(Updated at 10 a.m.) Firefighters are on scene of a possible apartment fire at the River Place residential complex in Rosslyn.
Heavy smoke was reported on a lower floor of one of the high-rise buildings, on the 1000 block of Arlington Blvd. A second alarm was dispatched as a precaution, according to scanner traffic.
“Expect a large fire department response in the area,” ACFD said via social media.
Firefighters investigating the source of the smoke now believe it was from a small kitchen fire, which has since been extinguished.
#FinalUpdate: Upon arrival units encountered smoke on the 4th floor. After searching apartments, units discovered burnt food in an appliance. No fire. Units are working on removing the smoke from the building. pic.twitter.com/15UkqXCnk1
The approximately 2,500-square-foot establishment serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Menu highlights include a $4 speciality tacos such as the “Piggy Mac” featuring eight-hour slow roasted pork brisket, topped with mac and cheese and bacon sour cream. The “We Jammin” taco is made with jerk grilled chicken, cabbage, and mango pico de gallo.
All items on the extensive taco menu can be served on house-made “Blue Rock” corn tortillas.
At the bar, Taco Rock offers a variety of tequila-based cocktails and imported Mexican beers. Its michelada, an traditional beer cocktail made with beer, lime juice, and chili, features a serving of shrimp ceviche.
Yvette Irene Design, the same interior firm behind nearby Barley Mac — another Cordero restaurant — and Detour Coffee, designed the Taco Rock space. Special design touches to the restaurant to play into the rock and roll theme, such as a giant guitar hanging from the ceiling and faux-snake skin banquets at the bar.
“We know the Rosslyn community will welcome our new concept as a neighborhood spot for a quick bite or to socialize around our tequila bar,” said Cordero in a press release. The full press release is below, after the jump.
R-Dogs is pushing for a new dog park in Rosslyn (Image courtesy of Irma Magadan Couto)
Area proposed for a temporary dog park in Rosslyn, within Gateway Park (Image via R-Dogs)
Rosslyn’s Gateway Park as seen from above in 2019 (Image via Google Maps)
R-Dogs is pushing for a new dog park in Rosslyn (Image courtesy of Irma Magadan Couto)
The western portion of Gateway Park in Rosslyn one group believes should be host to a temporary dog park (Image via Google Maps)
A new group is pushing the county for more space dedicated to its four-legged residents in Rosslyn’s growing neighborhood.
R-Dogs, LLC was one the groups at last week’s Cider Fest — the new group set up a table to hand out treats and dog waste bags, while advocating for a new dog park.
“R-Dogs is working with Arlington County and Rosslyn BID to build a top of the line park to be renamed Rosslyn Community Park,” the group said in a statement to ARLnow. “The new park will include a dog park with separate areas for large and small dogs. A separate area will also be built for individuals in the community to sit, socialize and enjoy watching their dogs play.”
The seven-member group has yet to pick a spot for the park, but for now is calling for a temporary, gated one to be set up in the western half of Gateway Park at the corner of N. Nash Street and Lee Highway.
In its application to the county, R-Dogs is also proposing the park incorporate several features, such as:
A shaded shelter with benches
Separated sections for large and small dogs
Drinking fountains (for humans and dogs)
A water misting station for dogs to cool off under
A water-washing station
A raised seating area with the area underneath “sealed off to prevent dogs from hiding and being difficult to impossible to catch.”
A bulletin board
The group argues in the application that Gateway Park is an ideal location for a dog park because it’s lightly used, in need of repairs, and it’s not close to homeowners who might be bothered by barking.
The land on which the park sits is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and managed by the county. It’s situated next to Key Bridge Marriott site redevelopment (1401 Lee Highway) which plans to add 451 housing units and renovate the hotel.
“Parks, and especially dog parks, are a magnet to draw the community together, increase housing values, and attract new businesses and builders,” the group wrote in its application.
John Hummel, president of the North Rosslyn Civic Association, wrote in a letter of support that North Rosslyn has “witnessed a gradual but significant loss of walkable green space” in recent years and Gateway Park’s state of disrepair means some residents don’t feel comfortable using it.
“While NRCA has no idea of the design nor expected lifetime of this Temporary Dog Park, NRCA is in support of improvement of Gateway West to provide an attractive walkable space where residents can safely meet neighbors, chat, and let dogs run unleashed,” wrote Hummel.
The group held a public meeting last month to review the architectural plans for the site, per an Instagram post, and is asking for signatures of support for the project.
A spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development did not immediately respond to requests for more information.
(Updated at 10 a.m.) The 44th Marine Corps Marathon returns to Arlington and D.C. this Sunday, October 27, bringing thousands of runners to the area along with lots of road closures.
Opening ceremonies for the races begin at 6 a.m. along Route 110 between the Pentagon and the Arlington National Cemetery. The 5oK race kicks off at 7:30 a.m., then the wheelchair/hand cycle race starts at 7:40 a.m., and finally the marathon and 10K begin at 7:55 a.m. Approximately 30,000 runners are participating in the race.
MCM events in Arlington include a finish festival in Rosslyn and opportunities to cheer the runners on along the streets of Crystal City.
Many of Sunday’s road closures begin in the early morning and last until later in the day.
Per a press release from the Arlington County Police Department, the following county roads will close on Sunday:
3:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Marshall Drive from North Meade Street to Route 110
3:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. North Meade Street from Marshall Drive to North Lynn Street
3:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Route 110 from I-66 to Richmond Highway
3:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Wilson Boulevard from North Nash Street to Route 110
3:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Lynn Street from North Meade Street to Lee Highway
3:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Fort Myer Drive from North Meade Street to Lee Highway
3:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. North Moore Street from Wilson Boulevard to Lee Highway
3:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. 19th Street North from North Lynn Street to North Nash Street
3:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Route 110 ramp from Washington Blvd. to Pentagon North parking
6:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Lee Highway (eastbound) from North Lynn Street to Kirkwood Road
6:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Spout Run Parkway from southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) to Lee Highway
6:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. GWMP northbound from Spout Run to Memorial Circle Drive
6:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Francis Scott Key Bridge (all lanes)
6:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. I-66 Westbound ramp for Exit 75
6:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. I-66 Eastbound ramp for Exit 73
6:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. HOV lanes from 14th Street Southwest to HOV ramp at South Eads Street
5:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. South Eads Street from South Rotary Road to Army Navy Drive
5:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Army Navy Drive from South Fern Street to 12th Street South
6:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. 15th Street South from Crystal Drive to South Eads Street
6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 12th Street South from South Eads Street to Crystal Drive
6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Crystal Drive from 12th Street South to 23rd Street South
6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Long Bridge Drive from 12th Street South to I-395
6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 6th Street South from Long Bridge Drive to South Ball Street
6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. 10th Street South from Long Bridge Drive to South Ball Street
6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. South Ball Street from 6th Street South to 10th Street South
3:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Boundary Channel Drive from I-395 to Pentagon North Parking
3:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Washington Blvd. from Columbia Pike to Memorial Circle
In addition, per an agreement between marathon organizers and WMATA, Metro will be open two hours early on Sunday and provide extra service on the Blue and Yellow lines.
Additional travel tips from the press release, after the jump.
Police called on wild press conference outside townhouse in Rosslyn (screenshot via Ford Fischer/Twitter)
Police called on wild press conference outside townhouse in Rosslyn (screenshot via Ford Fischer/Twitter)
Police called on wild press conference outside townhouse in Rosslyn (screenshot via Ford Fischer/Twitter)
Angry resident outside press conference outside townhouse in Rosslyn (screenshot via Ford Fischer/Twitter)
(Updated 9:40 p.m.) A press conference on the front steps of a Rosslyn townhouse drew noisy protesters Monday afternoon, which in turn prompted a call to Arlington County Police.
Several ACPD officers responded to the 1500 block of N. Colonial Terrace for a noise complaint around 3 p.m. They arrived near the end of a press conference involving a trio of conservative provocateurs — Jack Burkman, Jacob Wohl and Milo Yiannopoulos — outside of Burkman’s home.
Burkman and Wohl have organized a recent seriesofpress conferences, mostly to accuse prominent Democrats of sexual malfeasance. Today’s event focused on similarly lurid-but-lacking-in-evidence accusations against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
The 2:30 p.m. press conference featured the claims against Cruz being read by the female accuser, while Burkman and Wohl stood nearby and Yiannopoulos sat to the side, checking his phone and smoking a cigarette.
During the press conference, a protester played a banjo while another shouted, blew an air horn and tossed donuts at the participants. A live stream of the event shows about two dozen people, including journalists, protesters and curious onlookers, in attendance.
Police responded to the area after receiving a report of disorderly protesters, arriving around 3 p.m.
“Is anybody in charge of the protest that wants to talk?” an officer asks. Attendees answered that there was no organized protest.
With police still on scene, a man who identified himself as a resident started to yell at the bystanders, complaining about the noise.
“I want all of you out of this f—ing neighborhood now,” he said. “You are bothering me.”
“Seriously, can you make them leave?” he asked police, who continued keeping watch near a street corner.
“This is such a s—show circus,” commented one of the people standing on the sidewalk.
Police could be seen starting to leave at the end of the livestream, as the attendees started to disperse. An ACPD spokeswoman told ARLnow the event “disbanded without incident.”
According to ACPD spokeswoman Kirby Clark:
At approximately 2:48 p.m. on October 21, police were dispatched to the report of loud noise and traffic obstructions in the area of North Colonial Terrace and North Ode Street related to an event being held in the area. Upon arrival, officers made contact with parties on scene and the event concluded without incident.
ACPD has not been made aware of community concerns regarding other similar events at this location. Residents who have specific community concerns regarding this event or others are advised to contact the Community Outreach Team for this area by email (ACPDNorthOutreach@ arlingtonva.us) or phone (703-228-4184).
Burkman was previously in the news locally after he was shot in the parking garage of the Key Bridge Marriott hotel in Rosslyn.
Space at 1650 Wilson Blvd (Staff photo by Kalina Newman)
Space at 1650 Wilson Blvd (Staff photo by Kalina Newman)
A new Japanese restaurant is coming to Rosslyn in conjunction with the upcoming Gong Cha Tea Shop.
Permits have been filed for Toryumon Japanese House at 1650 Wilson Blvd, across from the new Arlington Public Schools facility The Heights.
The Japanese restaurant already has a location in D.C. at 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue. Its menu features a wide variety of traditional and speciality sushi rolls, along with ramen and hibachi.
Additional permits at the same address have been filed for national bubble tea chain Gong Cha Tea Shop.
A spokesman from Gong Cha confirmed the location with ARLnow and said it would open by December, though no construction activity was evident as of this morning.
Toryumon Japanese House could not be reached for comment.
Cars blocking a bike lane in Crystal City (photo by Chris Slatt)
Record of bike lane blockages around N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn (Map via How’s My Driving)
Record of bike lane blockages around Fairfax Drive in Ballston (Map via How’s My Driving)
Record of bike lane blockages around S. Crystal City Drive (Map via How’s My Driving)
More than 300 instances of vehicles blocking bike lanes were recorded during yesterday’s data collection project in Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City.
A map of the violations from the D.C.-based ‘How’s My Driving?’ app indicates volunteers spotted 307 bike lane violations on sections of N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn, Fairfax Drive in Ballston, and Crystal Drive in Crystal City yesterday (Thursday).
“We knew the bike lanes monitored yesterday were a problem anecdotally, but now we have data to back up those claims that will hopefully help drive changes to enforcement practices and improve built infrastructure,” app co-creator Mark Sussman told ARLnow.
Most of the violations appear to have occurred along Crystal Drive.
Bike lane blockage hotspots on Crystal Dr can be crazy-specific. From 23rd to the South ped crossing had like 2 or 3 brief blockages at lunch. Between the 2 ped signals was like this the whole hour: #datapblpic.twitter.com/BtFiZpWeRl
Vehicles parked in bike lanes can force cyclists to swerve into traffic on the street, creating dangers for cyclists and drivers.
Arlington’s County Code prohibits people who “stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in a bicycle lane, nor shall any person drive a motor vehicle in a bicycle lane for a distance of more than one hundred (100) feet.”
@hmdappio Check out this utterly unmitigated disaster and 23rd & Eads – easily the worst designed bike lane in human history. Reason #1 I will never feel it’s safe ride my bike down Eads. And Amazon hopes HQ2 employees will cycle to work?? #DataPBLpic.twitter.com/5Q2kJ240PF
So this came up today. #datapbl The bus was six inches in the bike lane/ not fully against the curb. The uber was eight inches in the bike lane on the other side while pulling out. Result: blocked cyclist pic.twitter.com/t44LJ5GH1c
Sussman previously told ARLnow he’d like to expand his crowd reporting app to Arlington after the the D.C. service attracted thousands of submissions for cars blocking bike lanes.
A particularly popular part is a Twitter bot that fetches DMV data on how many fines the cars in question have racked up. But this feature won’t work for Arlington drivers until the county allows Sussman and his partner Daniel Schep access to the public databases.
Three years ago, Arlington Transportation Commission Chair Chris Slatt created a crowdsourced reporting tool — ParkingDirty.com — for bike lane blockages that relied on users monitoring traffic cameras. On one day, it found that a stretch of bike lane along Crystal Drive was blocked about 65% of the time.
Heavy Seas Alehouse to Close — “Heavy Seas Alehouse, the restaurant affiliated with the Baltimore-area brewery, will close its doors in Rosslyn by the end of October, one of its principals said Thursday. The restaurant plans to close Oct. 27, said Mike Morris, a partner in Monogram Hospitality, which operates Heavy Seas Alehouse.” [Washington Business Journal]
Real Estate Costs Going Down? — “In every major jurisdiction of the local area, the median per-square-foot price for housing for the January-through-September period declined, in many cases by double digits, according to new figures reported Oct. 11… Arlington led all local jurisdictions for the nine-month period, but its median per-square-foot cost of $436 was down 6.8 percent from $468.” [InsideNova]
Kaine to Talk Vaping at Arlington School — “On Friday, October 18, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine will hold a roundtable discussion on efforts to address the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use. The discussion at Montessori Public School of Arlington will include students, teachers, counselors, parents, health experts, and Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni.” [Press Release]
Road Closures for Festival in Shirlington — “The Shirlington Shucktoberfest, sponsored by the Copperwood Tavern, will take place on Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Set up will begin at approximately 6:00 a.m. and cleanup should be completed by 7:00 p.m. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures…” [Arlington County]
Arlington Woman’s Alleged Killer Charged — “The killer of Pamela Butler, a Washington, D.C., federal worker who disappeared before Valentine’s Day in 2009, has been charged in the 1989 death of his wife. Marta Haydee Rodriguez-Cruz disappeared from Arlington, Virginia, in 1989. Her remains were found along Interstate 95 in Stafford County in 1991 but weren’t positively identified until 2018. Her husband, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, also dated Butler for a time.” [NBC 4]
Arlington Man Convicted in Child Sex Sting — “An Arlington man is among more than 300 people arrested worldwide in connection with a website that authorities describe as the largest child sexual exploitation operation of its kind ever discovered in terms of the volume of content. Ammar Atef H. Alahdali, 22, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to serve five years in prison and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.” [Patch]
Nearby: Birding Store Near Fairlington Closing — “After 33 years, birding and nature store One Good Tern (1710 Fern Street) near Fairlington is closing as longtime owner Charles Studholme faces a grim kidney failure diagnosis.” [ALXnow]
(Updated at 1:10 p.m.) The “How’s My Driving” cycling safety app is planning an event in Arlington tomorrow to collect data on bike lane violations.
App co-creator Mark Sussman told ARLnow that a team of about 40 people are gearing up to hit streets in Crystal City, Ballston, and Rosslyn on Thursday to count the number of times vehicles block bike lanes. The volunteers will track the bike lane violations on S. Crystal Drive, Fairfax Drive, and N. Lynn Street by reporting blockages through the app, which will share the data through a live dashboard.
“Crystal Drive and Lynn Street are just consistently blocked,” said Sussman. “The problem is that we don’t understand the size and the scope of the problem.”
Video recently posted to Twitter shows multiple stopped vehicles blocking the Crystal Drive bike lane. An Arlington County Police tweet from this summer showed a similar violation on Crystal Drive leading to a traffic ticket.
Motor Officers conducted high visibility traffic enforcement along Crystal Drive today to curb illegal practices including stopping/parking in the bike and travel lanes. Increase roadway safety be being a PAL – Predictable | Alert | Lawful. pic.twitter.com/YKmrkCXz2u
Sussman and his partner and co-creator Daniel Schep, a software engineer, are hoping data collected by volunteers tomorrow during the morning and evening rush hours and lunchtime can help fix that.
Currently, only app users in the District can report violations through the app and see how many other violations the driver has racked up on that vehicle — courtesy of a bot that fetches the DMV data. But Susan and Schep have been eyeing expansion into Arlington for months as the app gained popularity and people began reporting violations across the Potomac, too.
The pair say they’re hoping Thursday acts as a demonstration of what kind of real-time data officials could have access to if they contract with “How’s My Driving” in the future.
Volunteers are also out collecting bike lane blockage data today in Pittsburgh. Previously, people helped with a data collection day in D.C. which yielded 700 violations, and another one for bus lane blockages that tracked 300 violations.
“When you get that amount of data, patterns really start to emerge. You can use that data in aggregate both for enforcement purpose and transportation planning,” said Sussman.
However the app creator emphasized that these data collection days are not designed for enforcement purposes, and act as more of a proof of concept.
“No one is getting citations. No one is reporting to authorities,” said Sussman. “The data is only reported in aggregate in a presentation to the county. It would never be used to call out for specific vehicles.”
“The overall effort is not to shame or expose particular violators,” he added.
It’s Columbus Day — Despite the federal holiday, all Arlington County government offices, courts, libraries and facilities will be open today. Barring breaking news, ARLnow will be publishing on a limited schedule today. [Arlington County]
Theft from Casual Adventure — From an Arlington County Police crime report: “At approximately 11:35 a.m. on October 10, police were dispatched to the late report of a larceny. Upon arrival, it was determined that an unknown suspect entered a business at approximately 5:30 p.m. on October 9, selected numerous fleece jackets before fleeing the scene without paying.” [Arlington County]
ACPD Warns of Phone Scam — “Residents have reported receiving unsolicited phone calls from individuals fraudulently claiming to be technicians with Dominion Energy. These individuals accuse the victims of having overdue bills which must immediately be paid, or their power will be disconnected. The caller then provides a fraudulent claim number and phone number where the funds may be paid and often requests payment using a prepaid debit or gift card.” [Arlington County]
Governor Issues Drought Watch — “Governor Ralph Northam today announced a statewide drought watch advisory for the Commonwealth of Virginia. A drought watch is intended to increase awareness of current conditions that are likely to precede a significant drought event.” [Press Release, Capital Weather Gang]
Circus Returns to Rosslyn — Updated at 3:45 p.m. — Conservative provocateurs Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl are holding yetanotherpress conference this week outside Burkman’s Rosslyn townhouse. The duo say they will be joined by a “longtime drug dealer” for prominent Democratic members of Congress. [Twitter]
Nearby: Four Mile Run Trail in Alexandria to Reopen Soon — “A bridge spanning the last gap on the Alexandria side of the Four Mile Run Trail has been put into place, but the trail remains impassable for pedestrians.” [ALXnow]
This content was written and sponsored by The Keri Shull Team, Arlington’s top producing residential real estate team.
Feeling hangry? Well, don’t be crabby. Let’s taco bout where to eat in Rosslyn, Virginia!
There are so many delicious restaurants in Rosslyn, it was hard to narrow it down to just these 6! Check out our list of the restaurants and nightlife spots that you HAVE to try if you are visiting or moving to Rosslyn.
What’s your favorite place to eat and drink in Rosslyn? Let us know in a comments below, we’d love to try it!
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